50 Years On: Dive into Misogynistic Words in Japan's "Kojien" Dictionary
By Naoki Imai
Tokyo, Feb. 27 (Jiji Press)--Perhaps one of the most iconic Japanese dictionaries, "Kojien" with its vast collection of some 250,000 words and phrases still include language that may be perceived as misogynistic.
Ahead of the 50th anniversary of International Women's Day on March 8, an official at the dictionary's publisher, Iwanami Shoten, explained, "You could become complicit in discrimination if you do not know the background of discriminatory words and phrases."
"When encountering words that can hurt others, take a moment to consider the background and the reason why such words were born and took root in society," the official added.
First published in 1955, Kojien, a cross between a Japanese-language dictionary and an encyclopedia, is on its seventh edition, released in 2018.
(2025/02/27-16:01)
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